Lessons from the Skyline Plaza Collapse: A Tragic Tale

Another Look at the Collapse of Skyline Plaza at Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia

On March 2. 1973. the Skyline Plaza apartment building in Bailey's Crossroads Virginia collapsed while under construction. The collapse extended vertically through the building from the 24th floor to the ground, leaving an appearance of the structure as two different high-rise buildings with a gap between them. The collapse tore a 18-meter-wide gap through the building all the way to the ground. At the time of the collapse, two practically identical reinforced concrete towers had already been built.

This case study reviews the available published information on the case to determine what lessons can be learned.